CDC reports first severe locally contracted flu case

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the nation’s first severe case of swine flu, which involves a man who contracted the A(H1N1) influenza virus locally.

The 34-year-old victim, who came down with a fever, a cough and a sore throat on July 2, was hospitalized on July 9 with tachypnea, or abnormally fast breathing, the CDC said.

“What concerns us most is that he has passed the virus onto another two victims, who also tested positive for the virus at the same time,” CDC spokesman Lin Ting (林頂) said.

Lin said the patient was being treated in an intensive care unit after he showed signs of multiple organ failure.

The male patient, who is from Kaohsiung but works as a salesman in Taipei, has not been abroad, which suggests a community outbreak may have begun, especially after the other two people who came into contact with the patient also tested positive for the virus, he said.

The other two patients are recovering, Lin said.

CDC statistics show that as of noon yesterday, there had been 93 recorded cases of A(H1N1) influenza infections in Taiwan.

The results of community surveillance conducted since last month show that of all the patients who have tested positive for influenza A, 88 percent were of the H1N1 subtype, the CDC said.

The results of a computer simulation indicate that the number of infections caused by the new strain has likely exceeded 1,000, it said.

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